Teens start early on teacher education

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — When Jesse Meints enters Stoddard Elementary School she is hit with a tidal wave of kindergartener hugs.

The children mean more to the Beatrice High School senior than they know. These students are her first class.

For 13 years Jesse has sat behind a desk learning, but also observing the men and women she someday hopes to become.

This year Jesse and 23 other high school students have been participating in an Education Academy at Beatrice High that has allowed them to earn college credit. It also gives them about six hours of classroom time a week working with cooperating teachers.

“It has been interesting to be able to watch them go from seeing the classroom as student to seeing a classroom as a student to seeing the classroom as a teacher and looking at everyone’s need,” Education Academy Instructor Doris Martin said.

Martin helps coordinate the career academies. She came out of her teaching retirement to become an adjunct professor for the class. Doris taught journalism at Beatrice High for 32 years before retiring five years ago.

“It was kind of a win-win for me because I got to get back in the classroom, but I didn’t have to go back full time and I could talk about something that was an important part of my life,” Martin said.

The program originally was called cadet aiding and did not include class work at the high school. Martin said including the classroom portion to cadet aiding has “added some meat” to it.

“Before students were exposed to the hands-on side of education; however, the course was missing the educational theory,” BPS director of curriculum and assistant high school principal Jackie Nielsen said. “Students now get a more complete picture of what it means to go into the education profession.”

Learning what it takes

Students in the class earn 10 hours of high school credit and 4 1/2 hours of college credit.

Martin said the academy students have a chance to do a variety of tasks while working with the teachers they aide.

Senior Jalen Weeks, whose parents both have taught in the district, is working with Beatrice Middle School computers teacher Steve Menke and his students.

“My favorite part is being able to go in the classroom and talk with all the kids,” Jalen said. “You really do get a better understanding of how kids react to other situations.”

Meints, who works with both kindergarten teachers at Stoddard, Jenny Frerichs and Dana Workman, has the opportunity to witness two different kinds of teaching styles, as well as finding different styles to work with each student.

“It is hard because each kid has to be disciplined a different way,” Jesse said. “You have to discipline them differently because of the way they react.”

The cadet aiding cooperating teachers help grade the academy students. The students also have portfolio assignments that focus on career development.

Both Jalen and Jesse plan to pursue careers in teaching after graduation. Martin has her students keep detailed journals in hopes of knocking off some of the required time in a classroom they will need in college.

Doris said the academies are a great introduction to college for the students.

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